Wagering games commonly provide prizes based on a predefined pay table. Prizes based on a predefined pay table equate a graphically represented result in the wagering game with a pay table prize defined for that result. In the case of reel-type wagering games in which results are displayed through symbol combinations shown on a series of mechanical or video-generated spinnable reels which have each been stopped at a particular angular orientation, a symbol combination shown on the stopped reels such as a line of three of the same symbol may be shown in a pay table for the game as correlating to a prize in currency, credits, or other value. In the example of a playing card game such as a video poker game, a pay table for the game may equate various playing card hands to a respective prize value which is paid to the player upon achieving the respective hand in a play of the game.
In addition to or in lieu of prizes based on a predefined pay table, wagering games may also provide progressive prizes. Progressive prizes are commonly prizes that do not have a fixed value. These types of prizes have commonly been funded by a certain percentage of each qualifying wager placed in a given wagering game and perhaps other wagering games that are linked for the progressive prizes. For example, 1% of each wager placed at a given gaming machine may be allocated to a progressive prize pool. Thus for every one dollar wager placed at such a gaming machine, the progressive prize pool is incremented by one cent. All or some fraction of the amount accumulated in the progressive pool may be awarded to a player in response to a progressive prize winning event in the progressive game system. The progressive prize winning event may be a particular result in a wagering game operated by the player or may be defined in any other suitable manner. Once the progressive prize is awarded from the progressive pool, the amount of the prize is deducted from the pool value and the pool may be reset at some minimum value by adding a progressive prize seed value which may be funded by the progressive system operator.
The amount of the progressive prize awarded for a given progressive prize winning event and the definition of the progressive prize winning event may be related in some progressive gaming systems. For example, “must-hit-by” style progressive prizes are defined by an “award-at” value accumulated in a progressive pool, and the progressive prize winning event is defined as the play in the underlying wagering game which causes the progressive prize pool to reach that award-at value. This award-at value, which is concealed from the players, may be defined randomly within a certain range for the progressive prize pool. If a given wager in a participating game increments the accumulated value of the progressive prize pool to the defined award-at progressive prize value, the player making that wager wins the progressive prize amounting to the award-at progressive prize value.
Progressive prize gaming systems may maintain multiple different progressive prize pools, each providing a different progressive prize. Different progressive prize pools are commonly defined as different tiers at different maximum values. A wager in a participating game may be used to increment the value of some subset of the progressive prize pools or all of the progressive prize pools.
Progressive prizes have been popular among casino patrons for a number of reasons. One reason for the popularity is that a large number of gaming machines, perhaps even located at different gaming facilities, may be linked to accumulate the progressive prize pool or pools. Collecting contributions from a large number of gaming machines allows the progressive prize pools to collect large values, and thus progressive prizes may be very large, commonly much larger than prizes in the predefined pay tables for the underlying wagering games. However, despite the popularity of progressive prizes and the progressive gaming systems that offer such prizes, there remains a need in the gaming industry to devise new types of progressive gaming systems and methods to capture and hold player interest.